A night with Catch 22
By Jen Stevenson
Issue date: 12/4/03 Section: Film & Music
Before the doors opened earlier in the night, I was able to sit down with Ryan Eldred, Catch 22’s very chill sax player and vocalist. He took me into the band’s RV (their “tour bus”) for an interview.
The Strand: So how did you guys first get started and how did you get this far?
Catch 22: Well, we were 16, a couple of the guys were in a punk band and they just decided they wanted to play more. I was one of them. We started playing in our basement in New Jersey, [then] we started playing shows in fire halls and other small places with a couple of ska bands that were around in the mid 90s.
The Strand: Why did you decide to call the band Catch 22?
Catch 22: A couple of us were fans of the book. And it’s a fun name… Like, we’ll show up and we’ll talk to people at a restaurant or something like that and people will be like: [speaking in a old country bumpkin accent] “So y’all are in a band? Catch 22? I think I’ve heard of that!” [laughs]
The Strand: You’ve changed band members over the years. Do you thing that has changed the dynamic of the band?
Catch 22: Absolutely, yeah. Definitely for the better. The reason that people leave a band is because their heart isn’t fully there or they don’t like touring, which is everything Catch is about, you know? And I think for the past, like, 3 years we’ve been playing with this band and we’re very solid and very comfortable with who we are and what we’re doing.
The Strand: Steve Evetts came aboard this year to help produce your new album Dinosaur Sounds. What was that experience like compared to your previous self-produced albums?
Catch 22: He didn’t take our songs and, like, totally change them or write anything for us. He just basically said, “You know what? You can try this… try adding this extra chord.” Just small things, and everything he suggested was great! He was very demanding, which is a good thing. He wanted… not perfection, but he wanted very quality playing and at the same time playing with character. It’s helpful [and] he’s very good about it… He’s a good guy.
The Strand: So how did you guys first get started and how did you get this far?
Catch 22: Well, we were 16, a couple of the guys were in a punk band and they just decided they wanted to play more. I was one of them. We started playing in our basement in New Jersey, [then] we started playing shows in fire halls and other small places with a couple of ska bands that were around in the mid 90s.
The Strand: Why did you decide to call the band Catch 22?
Catch 22: A couple of us were fans of the book. And it’s a fun name… Like, we’ll show up and we’ll talk to people at a restaurant or something like that and people will be like: [speaking in a old country bumpkin accent] “So y’all are in a band? Catch 22? I think I’ve heard of that!” [laughs]
The Strand: You’ve changed band members over the years. Do you thing that has changed the dynamic of the band?
Catch 22: Absolutely, yeah. Definitely for the better. The reason that people leave a band is because their heart isn’t fully there or they don’t like touring, which is everything Catch is about, you know? And I think for the past, like, 3 years we’ve been playing with this band and we’re very solid and very comfortable with who we are and what we’re doing.
The Strand: Steve Evetts came aboard this year to help produce your new album Dinosaur Sounds. What was that experience like compared to your previous self-produced albums?
Catch 22: He didn’t take our songs and, like, totally change them or write anything for us. He just basically said, “You know what? You can try this… try adding this extra chord.” Just small things, and everything he suggested was great! He was very demanding, which is a good thing. He wanted… not perfection, but he wanted very quality playing and at the same time playing with character. It’s helpful [and] he’s very good about it… He’s a good guy.
